200 



have affected, which would not seem to be much, in regard to any effect 

 produced on the subject now under consideration. 



This river and its tributaries present several interesting features. 



The main river itself penetrates, by a narrow rocky gorge of picturesque 

 scenery, the main dividing range of this part of the island, and separates it 

 into the Ruahine and the Tararua mountains. 



In this gorge there occur several reaches of still, deep water, and as the 

 view is shut in at both ends by the winding coui'se, the traveller seems to 

 float in his canoe in a rock-bound mountain lake, with grey lichened cliffs, 

 overhung with fern's and shrubs, and steep wooded slopes, rising above them. 

 These quiet reaches are separated by dangerous rapids, full of boulders and 

 rocks. 



Both above and below the gorge the country is lower, and the character 

 of the river is a rapid course over wide shingle beds, and this makes the change 

 into the gorge more striking. 



This river takes the rainfall of both sides of the southern end of the 

 Ruahine range ; for twenty-five miles on the east side, by the portion of the 

 Manawatu proper, which runs in the Province of Hawke's Bay ; and for thirty 

 miles on the west side by the River Puhangina, which has a course almost 

 parallel with the range, and joins the Manawatu only some one and a half miles 

 to the west side of the gorge ; and also by the sources of the Oroua to the north 

 of the head of the Puhangina. 



The Manawatu also takes the rainfall of both sides of the northern end of 

 the Tararua range ; for thirty miles on the east side by the Mongahao river, 

 which runs almost parallel to the range, and joins the Manawatu only a mile 

 or two to the east of the gorge, and also by streams falling into the Porty-mile 

 bush rivers from the hills south of the head of the Mongahao ; and for 

 twenty miles of the west side of the range, by the Tokomaru river, and the 

 Kahuterawa, and other large streams falling into the Manawatu on its southern 

 bank. It also gets the drainage of the table-land of the Forty-mile bush, by the 

 Makakahi, Mangatainoko, and other streams falling into the Teraumea, — 

 which joins the Manawatu to the east of the gorge ; — and by the Teraumea 

 river, which rises on the east side of the Puketoi range, it gets the rain falling 

 on both sides of the southern end of the Puketoi range; and by the Waitawhiti, 

 the Ihuraua, and other streams it drains a part of the high lands adjoining the 

 heads of the Whareama and the Taueru livers, which both flow to the eastward 

 part of the province. 



By the numerous rivers and streams flowing into the Oroua from both 

 sides, into the Puhangina from the west, and into the north side of the 

 Manawatu itself to the west of the gorge, the rainfall over an extensive 

 flat and table country between the Ruahine range and the sea coast also finds 

 its way to the sea by the Manawatu. 



Drawing its supply from such an extensive area, exposed to so much 

 variety of climatic influences, it would seem that we need not expect all its 

 tributaries to be flooded at one time ; as the north-west rains will affect the 

 Oroua, Puhangina, and streams to the west of the dividing range, while the south- 

 east rains will flood the rivers on the eastern side. 



The south-east or south-west rains, however, produce the heaviest floods, 

 as the rain-drift flies along the line of the main range, and siipplies both slopes 

 at once, as well as probably falling more copiously on the area to the east of 

 the range, and on the southern end of the Puketoi mountains, while the north- 

 west rains striking more transversely to the line of the main range, probably 

 fall more heavily on the western slopes than on the eastern. 



The northern end of the Tararua, falling in height as it approaches the 

 gorge, does not contribute much water from summer melting of snow, but 



